"No, you are not allowed to anymore." Winter exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around Sapphire.

"Why?" Sapphire questioned.

"You were allowed to before because you wouldn't die, but now you might," Winter cried out. "I am not letting you participate."

"That change of rules does absolutely nothing." Sapphire exclaimed, attempting to push Winter away but failing.

"What do you mean?" Winter inquired as she tilted her head.

"Based on the rules, if anyone without the sigil dies they will be revived, right?" Sapphire reminded. "If I don't have the sigil, there is nothing to worry about."

"But you can't participate without the sigil." Winter mumbled as she lightly hit Sapphire's head.

"I will participate with the sigil, and relinquish it right as I am about to die." Sapphire grunted as she hit Winter's head multiple times in retaliation.

"Ow, ow, ow, stop it." Winter mumbled as she grabbed Sapphire's hands. "Also, it doesn't reduce the risk, what if you can't do it in time? What if you get caught off guard?"

"I won't, don't worry about it," Sapphire sighed. "I will be completely fine, and if anything happens to me, feel free to kill me."

"How am I even supposed to do that when you are dead?" Winter murmured.

"Kill my ghost, maybe it will bring me back to life," Sapphire chuckled.

"Haha, very funny." Winter mumbled, her ears standing up a moment later. "Do you sense that?" She inquired.

"I have for quite a while, it's been moving around from the looks of it." Sapphire replied as she looked up at the sky. She focused on a little point in the sky, looking to be very slightly moving in a distorted manner. "I have no clue what that is supposed to be," Sapphire shrugged.

A sound similar to glass breaking echoed from above, startling surrounding birds and wildlife along with Winter and Sapphire. The two looked up in confusion, getting up to move away for safety. As Sapphire stood up and took a step ahead something dropped in front of her, her leg slipping as she stepped on it, causing her to fall face first in the snow.

"It looks like the map you carried." Winter pointed out, inspecting the roll of paper as she crouched beside it. "Also, what is that weird hole in the air?"

Sapphire rolled to the side, lying on her back and staring at the portal above her, slowly reducing in size. She grabbed some snow in her hand, using her other one to compress it into a ball. Jumping back to her feet she threw it up with all her strength, sending it through the portal just before it closed.

"Well deserved." Sapphire scoffed as she picked up the rolled up piece of paper. After several moments of staring at it in confusion she dropped it on the ground, holding her hand out right above it. "World Tra-" Sapphire called out before being tackled by Winter.

"What are you even doing?" Winter questioned, holding her hand out to help Sapphire up.

"They called us to a place, the paper works as a catalyst to teleport anyone to that location." Sapphire informed as she pushed herself back to her feet, batting Winter's hand away.

Before Winter could respond both sensed another distortion in space, a new portal. It opened only for a brief moment, much smaller than the previous one. As the two looked at in confusion an object shot out of it, hitting the ground and causing a shockwave from the impact. The snow on the ground rose like a wave due to the shockwave, washing over both Winter and Sapphire as they stood in confusion.

"What was that all about?" Sapphire mumbled as she dusted her clothes to remove the snow.

"Maybe for the snowball you threw?" Winter inquired as she shook her head to get the snow out of her hair.

"Whatever the reason might be, it doesn't matter. For now, let's go there and see why they called us there." Sapphire suggested as she prepared to use the teleportation spell.

"What if they want to kill you there?" Winter questioned worriedly.

"They won't, it's a peace world. No fights are allowed in the peace worlds, not related with the war at the very least. Its against the rules to kill any participants or anyone from their armies over there." Sapphire informed as she ran her fingers through her hair, removing white specks of snow glittering like stars in her dark hair.

"You should've said that first," Winter mumbled.

"Let's go see what they want then, shall we?" Sapphire offered her hand to Winter.

"Fine, let's do this." Winter sighed as she grabbed Sapphire's hand.

"World Travel." Sapphire called out as a magic circle appeared under them.

Their surroundings changed in an instant, the snowy tundra changing to a lush green forest. The two looked around as Sapphire allowed her shadows to absorb the scroll, hoping to find where they needed to go. After several moments of searching, Winter found a piece of paper pinned to a tree with a feather.

"Its not a normal Phoenix feather." Sapphire mumbled as she ripped the paper from under it. "I know exactly who this belongs to, no Phoenixes other than her have almost pink feathers like this afterall." She sighed as she attempted to remove the feather, failing to do so.

After several moments of trying, Sapphire chose to give up and continue on her way. Just before leaving Sapphire though of trying another thing, not knowing if it would work but finding it to be worth a try.

"Material Absorption." Sapphire held her hand out, a jet of black shadows rose from the ground and engulfed the feather.

The shadows seemingly struggled to remove the feather as well, deciding upon a compromise in the end. They ripped the mid section of the tree apart, ripping it in half and causing the top to crash onto the ground, scaring away many little animals. After several moments the shadows finally absorbed the tree and the feather, allowing Sapphire to breathe a sigh of relief as it exhausted more energy than she gained from it.

"This was a waste of time." Sapphire mumbled as she gestured Winter to follow.

The two walked through the woods for some distance, following the surprisingly well and detailed map, colored as well. It marked every little thing for nearly two kilometres around the destination. Sapphire questioned who even decided to make such a detailed map, but she needed to focus on more important matters first.

They arrived at the tavern not long after, circling it to figure out all entrances and exits if the need arises. Sapphire found the tavern to be quite old, hundreds of years probably. The tavern, made of dark brown wood, being as high as two floors, covering a massive area on the ground. It seemed the tavern would be able to handle tens of thousands of people at once with ease, which made Sapphire question even more as to why they chose this place.

"Might as well head in." Sapphire shrugged as she approached the exit, Winter following close behind.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Sapphire opened the door and looked inside, confused and shocked at the sight. There appeared to be thousands of people filling the tavern, nearly all talking in quite whispers. It seemed there were very specific groups, all groups keeping their distance from each other. Sapphire spotted several people sporting a sigil on the back of their palm, not the same as the one on Sapphire's hand however.

There appeared to be a large semicircular stage at one side of the hall, no one standing there currently. Sapphire sensed traces of wind magic near the stage, seemingly flowing outwards from it. The ceiling of the tavern appeared completely dark, nothing visible over the many beams that stretched all through the place. There were many lamps attached to the poles in the tavern, several hanging from the beams as well, sufficiently lighting the ground below but shrouding the above in darkness.

"Can you see anything up there?" Winter inquired.

"No, it's very dark. I can see enough to know there isn't anything up there at the very least." Sapphire replied as she walked through the groups, stopping close to the stage, but far enough to not be easily noticed by anyone who would stand there. "Let's wait for something to happen." She shrugged to Winter.

"I guess that is all we can do." Winter sighed as her ears drooped down.

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Several minutes later Sapphire looked up, an easily recognisable figure walking onto the stage, one she would never be able to forget. She clenched her fists as her ears straightened, keeping herself low and behind others. Having been trained by him, she became well aware he would easily notice her as long as she stood in his field of view. Hiding behind others happened to be the only way for her to not be noticed, though she doubted even that would actually work against him.

"Greetings, participants." Kurai announced, his voice carrying around the hall despite not being loud. "I planned to gather you all here to advise you to forfeit the moment the war starts, but I highly doubt most of you would accept such an advise. Afterall, most present here are prideful to a fault."

"What is he trying?" Winter questioned, crouched beside Sapphire.

"So, instead of advising you as such, I decided to allow you all to get acquainted with each other before the war begins." Kurai declared as he raised his arms to the sides. "Any who attempt to start a fight on this day of peace and quiet will be dealt with instantly. It is a rule of the war, and those who created the war will certainly punish the rule breakers, but I do not intend to wait for them to notice it and will penalize you myself, indirectly."

"Are you certain you can win in a fight against us?" A man possessing white and purple eyes questioned, his black armor adorned with sharp, blade-like, purple crystals.

"Who knows?" Kurai shrugged. "Maybe I can't, but she definitely can." He smirked as several pink-orange tendrils dropped from the beams above the man, wrapping around his body and pulling him into the darkness. "I would consider even thinking of fighting to be worthy of some level of punishment."

The man slammed to the ground a moment later, bleeding and wounded. His armor appeared to be broken at many places, his breathing heavy and rapid. "What was that thing?" He questioned as he attempted to get up but failed.

"Worry not, she did not use her actual venom on you." Kurai informed with a smirk as he held his hand out, his palm open. "As for your question, she is not a thing." He sighed as Kesshō landed on his palm, one of her legs crossed over the other as she bowed her head. "She is The Empress, show some respect."

Sapphire grasped the handle of her katana as she clenched her jaw, a hand grabbing her shoulder and pulling her back right then. Winter embraced Sapphire, resting her chin on her shoulder as she gently patted her head. Sapphire released the handle of her katana, lowering her head as she calmed herself down.

"I can tell you are mad, but you should also understand your own limits." A voice sighed from behind them, causing both to turn.

"I don't know if we can trust you." Winter mumbled as Fi walked over to the two, standing a few steps from the two. Sapphire noticed the tinge of sadness in her eyes on hearing Winter's words.

"I don't ask for your trust, I know that is something you won't be giving me anymore. I just didn't want to see you getting hurt here for no reason." Fi sighed as she fiddled with her hair. "She has been ordered to paralyze anyone that attempts to start a fight. She won't fight you right now, and she won't be holding back in the war. So, I advise you to withdraw from this war, unless you lose something else important to you."

"Why should I take your advise, you are only trying to help them afterall." Sapphire mumbled as she turned away.

"Your mother would not have wanted you to be involved with this war," Fi informed. "She did not want to fight anymore, and the one you should despise are not them."

"Why are you talking about my mother?" Sapphire questioned, her ears straight and her teeth bared. "And why are you telling me who to despise."

"The fifth Immortal killed your mother, father, and the majority of the Midnight Wolves," Fi informed. "The only ones who killed Midnight Wolves were the fifth Immortal and that Hero you killed. Kurai saved your mother from an end worse than what she received, the fifth Immortal planned to torture her in her final moments afterall. Kurai and Kesshō did not kill a single Midnight Wolf. The two were there only because of the thousands you killed, and I requested them to stop you myself after the carnage you caused."

"I could have saved them if they didn't interfere." Sapphire sobbed as Winter pulled her closer.

"No, you would've only ended up seeing both your parents die in front of you, and then died yourself," Fi informed with a sigh. "The elder planned to have you killed in the wild afterall. Kesshō told me she sensed a powerful Winter Wolf in a tundra forest one night. The Winter Wolf scared away a bear in a certain direction, and when she went in that direction following the bear, she found a Midnight Wolf. She told me the bear seemed to be under a spell that froze and unfroze it's blood, causing it extreme pain and making it very hostile. She killed the bear that night, saving it from suffering as she did not know how to cure it, and also saving the Midnight Wolf which wished to be her friend."

"She tried to kill me back then?" Sapphire mumbled. "And Kesshō... Saved me?"

"She has saved you thrice in a way." Fi informed as she looked towards Kesshō, standing beside Kurai in a corner. "The first time which I just mentioned, and the second time in a forest. She sensed the same Winter Wolf there, and so she decided to go and investigate. Just nearby, she sensed that same Midnight Wolf and decided to say hello. She told me how the Winter Wolf went away after she stayed there for a while, and also about that the Midnight Wolf fought a knight to protect her."

"I do think I sensed something powerful back then, but I thought it was Kesshō after she did that flashy entrance," Winter mumbled.

"Third time, the time when you two fought," Fi explained. "Kurai ordered her to kill you, your mother requested him to atleast give you a painless death if possible. Kesshō didn't want you to die, she doesn't like killing people who have a lot of potential or are living happily. She held back in that last attack, even though she could have easily killed you and nearly everything else in that direction with it. She sort of hoped you would play dead so Kurai leaves it be, not very sure why she thought that might work."

"That is not quite saving I would say, but it seems she tried..." Winter sighed.

"Yes, it is not if you don't consider the Elder would have killed Sapphire by then if Kesshō didn't happen to be fighting her." Fi informed with a shrug. "She is not afraid of you, or me, not even Kurai. But she is scared of Kesshō, she wouldn't dare interrupt her in a fight. Also, if you do participate in this war, which I do think you will. Be careful, that Immortal will not forget what happened back there, and she will be seeking revenge no matter what." Fi advised as she turned away. "Afterall, revenge is exactly why she hates your mother and I."

"What happened with my mom and her?" Sapphire questioned as she tugged on Fi's sleeve.

"The Creator greatly cares for both your mother and I, the reason I am even part of the last six is because of his request to the Goddess of Chaos. Your mother preferred a more peaceful and normal life, a quality of her quite opposite to the fifth Immortal. They have always been opposites, and your mother was my close friend, and we shared many similarities." Fi informed as she looked at the ceiling, reminiscing.

"Was she strong?" Sapphire inquired.

"Stronger than me, stronger than your father even. But, she loved peace much more than anything else," Fi sighed. "That was till a certain day however, and since that day, she loved something else much more than even peace. A little mischievous girl, different from any others, completely unique, and the greatest gift she ever received."

Sapphire lowered her head as her ears drooped down, Winter gently patting her head and pulling her even closer.

"Well, atleast I can say she understood my struggle, even if at the very end of her life," Fi chuckled. "She found it really hard to believe someone like me could love someone more than anything else in the world, but she also understood that eventually."

"For you it's Kesshō, right?" Sapphire questioned.

"Yes, it used to be just one I cared so much about at first," Fi sighed. "Now, its three I care about more than anything else in the world, and I would more than gladly die for them. At the same time, I would be more than willing to appropriately punish them if they do wrong things."

"The second would be Kurai, who is the third?" Sapphire mumbled as she tilted her head.

"Its not Kurai," Fi smiled. "There are many things I care about more than him, he has things that require his focus a lot more than me afterall. As for the three things, you are free to keep guessing, I won't be telling you directly just what you mean to me afterall." She waved to the two, walking away and disappearing in the crowd of people.

"I will have to guess..." Sapphire murmured as she rested her head against Winter's chest.

"You really can be dumb sometimes." Winter chuckled as she caressed Sapphire's hair.

"What do you mean?" Sapphire inquired, her ears tilting to the side.